Issues & Advocacy

Category: General

The latest issue of The Osprey is now available. If you like to read scientific articles about steelhead and salmon conservation, mostly in the Pacific Northwest, then this is the journal for you. I encourage you to subscribe and help keep them going. This issue has a couple of articles that once again illustrate the peril facing anadromous fish in many PacNW river systems. It also contains an article on the lower Deschutes River which I found problematic. Read More »

I recently finished reading “The Compleat Angler” by Izaak Walton, who has been called the Father of Fly Fishing. First published in England in 1653, with revised editions until 1676, reading The Compleat Angler was a slog at best. Written near the time of Shakespeare, but without the Bard’s skill, it deserves its modern reputation as tedious. That being said, it was absolutely fascinating to read how much was known about angling 366 years ago.Read More »

On January 31 the Deschutes River Conservancy announced that they had secured funding from Intel Corporation to help with their middle Deschutes summer water leasing program. Without the DRC’s various efforts, including the leasing program, the middle Deschutes below Bend would be virtually dry in the summer. Additional funding for the leasing program is welcome news but requires some context.

Flows in the Deschutes above Bend are controlled by irrigation districts who withhold water to fill reservoirs in the winter and release water in the summer which is then diverted into a series of irrigation canals. The last major diversion is located at the North Canal Dam in Bend just upriver from the Riverhouse. During irrigation season the Deschutes below this dam is reduced to a relative trickle, dramatically damaging the ecosystem for fish and wildlife. Read More »

This is not a fishing blog, but every now and then I will post something along those lines. For a few years now I have been chasing bull trout on Lake Billy Chinook using fly gear. It’s challenging but can be rewarding. Above is a photo of one of my sons with a nice bull trout. There are a lot of variables at play, but it looks like we could have a good and early season. Here’s what I have been looking at. Read More »

Last week I had the opportunity to tour the Willamette Falls fish ladder as a member of the ODFW Restoration & Enhancement Board. There has been extensive coverage, including posts on this blog, about sea lion predation on anadromous fish at this ladder, to the extent that steelhead runs were at short term risk of extinction. ODFW is now euthanizing the most problematic pinnipeds. Less publicity has been given to the fact that the fish ladder itself is in danger of structural failure.Read More »

Here is a recent report from the Bureau of Reclamation on the water outlook for Prineville Reservoir. As you can see on page 3, a few days ago the reservoir was 35% full and flows into the Crooked River were only 49 cfs (47 cfs today), which is below the target set by ODFW for fish needs and the 80 cfs target in the Crooked River legislation. In summary, the BOR presentation implies that the outlook is not promising for the reservoir to fill which means flows into the Crooked River next winter after irrigation season ends will also likely be low. Keep reading for some commentary on the presentation prepared by BOR.Read More »

Yesterday George Weurthner had a worthwhile letter to the editor in the Bulletin on water rights. I agree with his comments, here’s my 2 cents. Over 100 years ago, when Central Oregon was mostly unsettled wilderness, the state gave away water rights, not water ownership which remains with the public, in an effort to create a local, agricultural based economy. Today, our area is booming and agriculture in Deschutes County is a minor and decreasing component of our economy. Nevertheless, irrigators continue to divert 90% of the water in the upper Deschutes Basin. It is well past time to reallocate the public’s water using a modern definition of beneficial use. It is possible to maintain water rights for irrigators who are truly using it for agriculture, provide for other irrigators willing to pay a market price, while supporting the growth of our modern economy, ensuring municipal water supplies, and restoring our public water ways.